Amid a recent metal dive, Scythe from Romania popped out of a Bandcamp alley and hit me with the flat side of their blade, leaving me stunned by wretched mayhem. They didn’t give us a promo for Scythe‘s self-released debut, but Boiled Alive has such a filthy style that after my first listen, I put it on the list of tracks you might have missed. Instead of waiting a few months before drawing attention to Boiled Alive, I volunteered to burn some oil at midnight and write about this quartet from Constanța.
Why did Boiled Alive boil me up so much and bother me so much? Scythe‘s death metal grabs you by the throat and never backs down, recalling many influences while creating something uniquely their own. After the period of inertia I had with death metal lately, I finally found something I love without apology. So get up right away, put your head on the cutting block and let Scythe hit the hole in your ear.
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Scythe don’t make grand statements about existentialism or introspection, nor do they redefine a genre of music. First and foremost, Scythe are here to deliver sick, sticky songs with cheerful recklessness. This terrifying four-piece leaves track titles overflowing with enough guts (“Liquified Entrails,” “Of Pure Goriness”) to shrink into a Cannibal Corpse setlist, while also listening out for soundscapes defined by Pestilence and Autopsy. Throughout Boiled Alive, the pace ranges between frenzied fits and slow crawls, often within the same song (“Necrophilic Corpse Orgies”). Although it would be easy for these dynamics to mislead listeners, the clever songwriting avoids clumsy transitions and offers a bewitching experience. Ultimately, Scythe guide listeners through a curated collection of horror that is as thrilling as it is satisfying.
Combining the ruthless songs of Asphyx with relentless feverish bursts, Scythe forge a unique blend of their own. Boiled Alive simmers with constantly shifting tempos, giving the album vibrancy and a disarming mix of bluntness and accessibility. While “Liquified Entrails” opens with a cannonade reminiscent of an unholy union of Priest‘s “Riding on the Wind” and Merciless‘s “Souls of the Dead,” “Of Pure Goriness” moves between a mid-tempo sling and manic waves of hostility, and sounds like the hybrid of Cannibal Corpse and Dismember. “Necrophilic Corpse Orgies” and “Tenebrous Decease” expose Scythe‘s ability to leap nimbly between accelerating clips and more measured tempos, electrifying with their seamless agility as they navigate rapid rhythm changes with a refinement that’s even more impressive given the band has no other projects or contributors to its name.
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The backing music on Boiled Alive is remarkably tight for a band formed only three years ago, and the mixing highlights its technical acumen. Rather than having the polished finish popular with the bigger labels, Boiled Alive has a dry, natural texture that lets Scythe‘s instrumentation glisten. Reminiscent of the production on Invictus‘s release last month, every hit on a tom and clang on the bass has an organic timbre, giving a raw aesthetic that lets Scythe sizzle. Whether it’s rattling from meticulous snare rolls (“Necrophilic Corpse Orgies”), punk, snare-kick combos (“Plastered in Phlegm”), or playful cymbal splashes (“Of Pure Goriness”), David Rolea scrapes the hides on every track. Meanwhile, bassist and singer Andrei Constandache uses a wonderfully rich low-frequency sound as he attacks the mic with a menacing raspy timbre. Not to be outdone, guitarists Mihai Panait and Andrei Oglan sharply searched the eight tracks of Boiled Alive, focusing on tangled riffs over messy solos. While the drums are the star of the show, Scythe have no weak links.
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Partly thrashy, partly doomy and entirely deathly, Scythe sway on Boiled Alive. And damn, it’s wonderful. This beast twists and turns with a pus-like, spicy atmosphere, and I’m guilty many times of restarting Boiled Alive just as the last track ends. I wish the solos were more widespread throughout the album, and Constandache’s vocals, although effective, needed a little variety, but these nits should be taken as wishes for the old Grin rather than anything inherently odd about Boiled Alive. Scythe deliver riffs and fun with an enviable effortless feel that should draw the attention of dealers and death metal lovers. In a genre with so much competition, Boiled Alive stands above the crowd, and I look forward to the next time Scythe release something.
Rating : Excellent
DR : 5 | Format reviewed : 320 kbps mp3
Label : Self-released
Websites : Bandcamp | Releases Instagram worldwide : February 1, 2026
The review was done by Angry metal guy.
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/scythe-boiled-alive-review/
